"They that hobgoblin call you, and sweet Puck...."

Entries tagged with lost boys

What’s a fic postmortem? It’s a rambling commentary on how a writer went about writing a particular story, identifying and solving problems, what the story was supposed to be about, what the writer learned, or would do differently. I learned to do them from antennapedia and find them tremendously helpful. Sometimes also an insomnia aid. Here then, is my postmortem for Lost Boys.

Thanks to lady_clover, rainkattemmessann and Wee Hob for fantastic beta work. Remaining mistakes are, of course, my own. Thanks also to everyone who read and commented. The response has been somewhat overwhelming. But as feedback is the only payment a fanfic author can receive, I must say I feel very well-compensated this time around. Thanks, all.

DISCLAIMER: The characters are the property of J.K. Rowling, Scholastic Books, and whoever else may have a hold on them. I own nothing in the Potterverse, or anywhere else, for that matter. Strictly for entertainment, and no profit is being made. Please sue somebody else. David Dursley, however, is mine. Please ask before you borrow him.

DISCLAIMER: The characters are the property of J.K. Rowling, Scholastic Books, and whoever else may have a hold on them. I own nothing in the Potterverse, or anywhere else, for that matter. Strictly for entertainment, and no profit is being made. Please sue somebody else. David Dursley, however, is mine. Please ask before you borrow him.

Notes: I will place a small warning here-- some mildly disturbing content in the second half of this chapter. This section took a much darker turn than I was expecting. And I should thank cmwinters for an entry on her journal, wondering when someone would write a certain pairing suggested by the opening of DH. It certainly colored my rereading of it for this purpose.

Also, I am unsure where I first encountered the phrase “Nimue preserve us.” If someone reading this knows the origin of the phrase, please let me know so I can attribute it properly. It's a wonderful phrase, similar to those invoking the Mother of God, and I sure didn't come up with it myself. But I'll happily use it.

Finally, it's the mark of a really good writer, when people mistake her story for canon. mistful is one such-- I got her description of a certain person on a train platform confused with a similar scene from DH, and I use it here. If you haven't read her “Coda to an Epilogue,” stop now and go here to read that instead. It's a much better story than this one. Please note that the links in my rec will expire in September of 2008, as the author is going on to professional status and pulling down her fanfic. I’m sure I’m not alone in wishing her the best.***“Well, Potter,” he said finally, a little unsteadily. “Shall we go see to that cousin of yours, then?”

The irritating boy, now a man, grinned at him, and oddly, it wasn't so irritating anymore. “Yeah. I mean, yes, Sir.”

DISCLAIMER: The characters are the property of J.K. Rowling, Scholastic Books, and whoever else may have a hold on them. I own nothing in the Potterverse, or anywhere else, for that matter. Strictly for entertainment, and no profit is being made. Please sue somebody else. David Dursley, however, is mine. Please ask before you borrow him.

DISCLAIMER: The characters are the property of J.K. Rowling, Scholastic Books, and whoever else may have a hold on them. I own nothing in the Potterverse, or anywhere else, for that matter. Strictly for entertainment, and no profit is being made. Please sue somebody else. David Dursley, however, is mine. Please ask before you borrow him.

DISCLAIMER: The characters are the property of J.K. Rowling, Scholastic Books, and whoever else may have a hold on them. I own nothing in the Potterverse, or anywhere else, for that matter. Strictly for entertainment, and no profit is being made. Please sue somebody else. David Dursley, however, is mine. Please ask before you borrow him.

Thanks to lady_clover, rainkatt and emmessann for fantastic beta work. Remaining mistakes are, of course, my own. Also I have been quite remiss in not recognizing the Listening Beta Extraordinaire, Wee Hob (my son, aged 12). He listened patiently while I read all this stuff aloud to him, some sections in multiple versions, and between his comments and questions, and my own hearing some of the really stupid things I was saying, a lot of literary tragedies were averted. Go here to leave him a comment telling him how awesome he is.

DISCLAIMER: The characters are the property of J.K. Rowling, Scholastic Books, and whoever else may have a hold on them. I own nothing in the Potterverse, or anywhere else, for that matter. Strictly for entertainment, and no profit is being made. Please sue somebody else. David Dursley, however, is mine. Please ask before you borrow him.

Thanks to lady_clover, rainkatt and emmessann for fantastic beta work. Remaining mistakes are, of course, my own. Also, this section forward owes much to the glimpses of these characters as adults shown in the works of mistful (Especially “Drop Dead Gorgeous” of all things) and LizBee’s Girl Most Likely. I’m new to the fandom, new enough to be able to trace how I made the shift to seeing these kids as more than my age, and these two authors are a lot responsible. Thanks to them both.

DISCLAIMER: The characters are the property of J.K. Rowling, Scholastic Books, and whoever else may have a hold on them. I own nothing in the Potterverse, or anywhere else, for that matter. Strictly for entertainment, and no profit is being made. Please sue somebody else. David Dursley, however, is mine. Please ask before you borrow him.

DISCLAIMER: The characters are the property of J.K. Rowling, Scholastic Books, and whoever else may have a hold on them. I own nothing in the Potterverse, or anywhere else, for that matter. Strictly for entertainment, and no profit is being made. Please sue somebody else. David Dursley, however, is mine. Please ask before you borrow him.

Title: Lost Boys, 6/14 - Conversations with the Dead, Part 2Rating: FRT (PG)Distribution: Sure. Let me know where it’s going. Written for the snape_after_dh ficathon.Feedback: Makes me write more. Or feel guilty for not writing more. Flames make me toasty.

Thanks to lady_clover, rainkatt and emmessann for fantastic beta work. Remaining mistakes are, of course, my own. Also, I have to admit the use of the word “filthy” for “dirty” look below is a usage I had never seen before reading some of mistful’s work. I’ll owe her a little more later, but for now, thanks to her for that.

DISCLAIMER: The characters are the property of J.K. Rowling, Scholastic Books, and whoever else may have a hold on them. I own nothing in the Potterverse, or anywhere else, for that matter. Strictly for entertainment, and no profit is being made. Please sue somebody else. David Dursley, however, is mine. Please ask before you borrow him.

Summary: Past and present meet in the dungeons of Hogwarts. This part set 4-5 years after the epilogue to Deathly Hallows.

DISCLAIMER: The characters are the property of J.K. Rowling, Scholastic Books, and whoever else may have a hold on them. I own nothing in the Potterverse, or anywhere else, for that matter. Strictly for entertainment, and no profit is being made. Please sue somebody else. David Dursley, however, is mine. Please ask before you borrow him.

Summary: Past and present meet in the dungeons of Hogwarts. This part set 4-5 years after the epilogue to Deathly Hallows.

Title: Lost Boys, 4/14 - An IntruderRating: FRT (PG)Distribution: Sure. Let me know where it’s going. From this point forward, written, unbeknownst to me, for the snape_after_dh ficathon “ghost snape” prompt. Thanks to elphaba_of_oz for suggesting I apply, and the mods for accepting a late claim and letting me post the lion’s portion of the fic here.Feedback: Makes me write more. Or feel guilty for not writing more. Flames make me toasty.

Thanks to lady_clover for fantastic beta work. And now also to rainkatt and emmessann who have also donated their time quite graciously. Remaining mistakes are, of course, my own.

DISCLAIMER: The characters are the property of J.K. Rowling, Scholastic Books, and whoever else may have a hold on them. I own nothing in the Potterverse, or anywhere else, for that matter. Strictly for entertainment, and no profit is being made. Please sue somebody else. David Dursley, however, is mine. Please ask before you borrow him.

Summary: Past and present meet in the dungeons of Hogwarts. Set after the epilogue to Deathly Hallows. This section-- a few years after the last one.

Okay, life is officially Much Better. I banged out a revised/ recreated lost scene, and was surprised that it has bits in it I never would have added had I not been starting from pretty much scratch. I think this will all work out. Just didn't look like it at the time. Never does. Though I doubt any helpful reminders last night would have helped. Thanks for all the kind thoughts and words today, though.

One by-product of the gut punch which was last night is that it dredged up a lot of old stuff for me that, while painful, was also immensely helpful in crafting the next scene. You'll see when you get there. We are dealing with Severus Snape, after all. Not everything can be fuzzy bunnies. Glad to know my PTSD can be employed in the service of Art. And that I have pretty much bounced back now. That wasn't always the case.

Anyway, I'm drained, but feeling much, much better. I'm looking forward to gathering together a big chunk of the story to post Monday, here and on the snape_after_dh fest.

Title: Lost Boys, 3/14 - DetentionRating: FRT (PG)Distribution: Sure. Let me know where it’s going.Feedback: Um, yeah. Did I not mention that? Anything up to and including flames is perfectly fine.

Thanks to lady_clover and clavally for comments on early versions of this section, and to sniggs for a fascinating extended discussion that helped me quite a lot.

DISCLAIMER: The characters are the property of J.K. Rowling, Scholastic Books, and whoever else may have a hold on them. I own nothing in the Potterverse, or anywhere else, for that matter. Strictly for entertainment, and no profit is being made. Please sue somebody else.

David Dursley, however, is mine. Please ask before you borrow him.

Summary: Past and present are about to meet in the dungeons of Hogwarts. Set not long after the epilogue to Deathly Hallows.

Summary: Past and present are about to meet in the dungeons of Hogwarts. Set not long after the epilogue to Deathly Hallows.

Thanks to lady_clover and clavally for comments on early versions of this section, and to sniggs for a fascinating extended discussion that helped me quite a lot.

DISCLAIMER: The characters are the property of J.K. Rowling, Scholastic Books, and whoever else may have a hold on them. I own nothing in the Potterverse, or anywhere else, for that matter. Strictly for entertainment, and no profit is being made. Please sue somebody else.

The boy introduced here, though-- he is mine. Please ask before you borrow him.

Summary/ Notes: This story is actually the main story for which "Two Dads" was backstory. Four years later, the past and present are about to meet in the dungeons of Hogwarts. Set not long after the epilogue to Deathly Hallows.

Thanks to lady_clover and clavally for comments on early versions of this section, and to sniggs for a fascinating extended discussion that helped me quite a lot.

DISCLAIMER: The characters are the property of J.K. Rowling, Scholastic Books, and whoever else may have a hold on them. I own nothing in the Potterverse, or anywhere else, for that matter. Strictly for entertainment, and no profit is being made. Please sue somebody else.